


Come Monday Night

by Pryde



Category: Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2014-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-20 20:47:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2442641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pryde/pseuds/Pryde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are things that just won’t leave your mind, that get stuck in the deepest and darkest cave of your mind and stay there, silently. Innocently, even. Creeping on you just when you think they are actually gone and just to remind they are still there, never allowing the wounds to be healed thoroughly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come Monday Night

There are things that just won’t leave your mind, that get stuck in   
the deepest and darkest cave of your mind and stay there, silently.   
Innocently, even. Creeping on you just when you think they are   
actually gone and just to remind they are still there, never allowing  
the wounds to be healed thoroughly. This is some thing Misao had   
the hardest time coming to terms with, to deal with. How was she   
supposed to live with those images in her head to begin with?

And they wanted her to have a normal life? That was **laughable**.

She wanted to forgive _him_ so bad, she saw and knew what his own   
guilt did to him, she was convinced he did not need her resentment,  
neither she wanted to deal with it any more. That’s not what _**they** _ would   
have wanted of her. Of them, really. Except that when the memories of   
his cruel cold and violent eyes on her, his distant voice telling her to   
stay away from him after wounding Okina so severely, turned into vivid   
nightmares with the sole purpose of taunting her unconscious…  
it was hard not feeling like she was all alone and that she could   
only respond to _them_ on her own. That, however, was what it felt   
like the very first seconds after waking up so abruptly when breaking  
free from the haunting dreams. Her heavy, high pitched panting was  
the only thing to be heard in the darkness of the night. The Aoiya was  
a building well prepared for the extreme cold of winter yet there she  
was, subtly trembling covered in a thin layer of sweat consequently,  
her skin was cold. So cold, and alone. Misao hated being alone.   


Taking a deep breathe and a few moments to gather herself, the   
horrid feeling nightmares always left in her chest slowly went away.   
The void in her chest was replaced by confidence and cheerfulness,   
at this point she didn’t have to fake it or pretend every gleeful smile.   
No, those were genuine and a real weapon to defend herself from   
sadness and pain, the only thing she could use to try to help others   
as well and for the moment, he needed help the most. Their daily   
schedule had settled long ago and relative ease but she knew he   
        still struggled. Some days were harder than others, but that applied   
        to all of them…right? This is the struggle Misao had been face lately,   
        to take up the responsibility for his recovery or not and every time she   
        tried to listen to Hannya’s voice guiding her she got nothing but the   
        image of  his expressionless mask, although through it she still could   
        sense  he meant she ought to do whatever she felt right. 

Odd thing, you know?

Feeling as if you actually know what the other person means even when  
they say or gesture nothing. And since that happened a lot with Aoshi,   
why would she assume she was wrong about Hannya? Just by the way   
his lids closed or the tone in his voice, or even which words were chosen  
for his brief responses, in those she could tell if he wanted to be alone,  
or if he wished to have tea or if he was feeling more anguished than   
the usual. Inevitably she disliked seeing him in pain, emotional pain  
but still it made it hard to hold on to her resentment towards him.   
Not because he didn’t deserve it but because it hurt her probably more  
than it hurt him, or so she thought anyway— which was why she had   
to remind herself that he was indeed back home and that he still was  
the same man she once knew and so purely and endlessly loved.

Granted, he was a bit broken now due to everything they had lived   
        but they _all_ were a bit bruised and different, even herself. The girl  
swallowed once, twice and the lump growing in her throat did not   
go away— Was it silly needing some reassurance in order to calm   
herself? Without much further thought, and very weasel-like, Misao   
sneaked out of her room until standing still right before Aoshi’s.

A little glance just to make sure he rested peacefully in his futon   
        couldn’t hurt, so once again she sneaked as silently as possible   
        inside the bedroom trying to adjust her sight to the lack of light so  
        as to observe him. And as though that wasn’t creepy enough of her,   
        she suddenly heard the clear noise of him moving and the shadow   
        of his body made it self visible as he sat. Surely he would wake up,   
        he  was the best ninja in the entire universe after all— thinking she   
        could get this close without being noticed was a complete fantasy   
        but Misao didn’t mind, really. It didn’t hurt her pride for her own skills   
        in the slightest.  She did worry about coming across a stalker, though. 

He didn’t say anything at all but Misao knew what that silence meant. 

        There she was, doing  it again. The interpreting thing.

The absence of words said enough of his concern and confusion,   
of wondering if there was something wrong but if anything, she knew  
this wasn’t a completely unfamiliar situation for neither of them.   
Her childhood memories were long distant and blurry but she knew   
for a fact that she never was scared of anything when he was around.   
She had never felt so safe and cared about in her entire life and when  
as a child she needed comfort in the night, he was the one she looked for.   
Not that the other Oniwabanshū didn’t make her feel safe, but somehow   
in her innocent mind Aoshi protected them as well so it only made sense  
going to him. The possibility of him not thinking she was bringing back   
such behaviour existed yet was not considered by Misao. Regardless,   
she explained herself;

                  ❝Aoshi~sama, I couldn’t sleep. Could I—❞ See, Misao was right.   
Of course he knew what was coming, before she could even finish   
                  voicing (more like whispering) the question she heard him again   
                  moving on the mattress, his figure moving slightly aside to make   
                  a little room for her to join him; a big bright smile invaded her lips.   
                  Losing no time Misao closed the door behind her and made her   
                  way to the man’s side drawn by the warmth of his body. How could   
                  someone who had been so cold and evil could feel this warm and   
                  caring, Misao had the answer and it was so obvious for her. 

                  He never was that demon, that was a _mistake_ — A mistake to be  
                  left in the past, it was enough dealing with the consequences of   
                  it that remained. They didn’t need more pain, **this** is exactly what  
                  they needed. **This** is making things right.  

Her slim arms wrapped around him pulling herself against him to  
take shelter as she snuggled into his chest, her happy place, and   
in a matter of seconds she could feel one of his arms surrounding    
        her waist to hold her close. That was it, all her doubts, all her fears   
        of him going down the wrong path again went away. Eyes closing,   
        letting his scent fill her lungs, there she could picture Hannya’s  
        mask smiling— if that was even possible, and the ache in her chest,   
        the feeling of her heart being squeezed remained but this time didn’t   
        hurt, it swelled in happiness. 

_**They** _ hadn’t lost him after all, Aoshi was home again.  



End file.
